Crime costs small firms €1.5bn

An acute lack of trust in law enforcement and the judiciary is contributing to a huge increase in crime against small and medium businesses which is costing the sector €1.5bn a year.

Just 5% of SMEs trust that the perpetrator of a crime against their business would be apprehended by gardaí. As such, almost a fifth don’t report such incidents.

This “climate of mistrust” has allowed the cost of crime to businesses to soar by 136% since 2007. It now costs each business an average €14,200 a year, including security costs.